Folding chair



2 Sheets Sheet l.

(No Model.)

. KELLER FOLDING CHAIR.

No. 399,049- Patented Mer. 5, 1889.

51e/manto z @Hom/yendo (No Model.) 2 Sheets-Sheet 2. L. KELLER.

FOLDING CHAIR.

No. 399,049. Patented Mar. 5, 1,889.

van tot Unire Sterns liirnivr @ritten LETER KELLER, OF FIRE CREEK, 'W Il "l VIRGINIA.

FOLDING CHAIR.

,SPECIFICTION forming part 0f Letters Patent N0. 899,049, dated faich 5, 1889. Application iiletl August 15, 1883. Serial No. 282,776. (No model.)

To @Z6 utont it may concor/t:

Iie it known that I, LESTER KELLER, a citizen oi' the United States, residing at Fire Creek, in the county of Fayette and State of vest Virginia, have invented anew and useful Improvement in Folding Chairs, oi:l which the following is a specitication.

'l` he object ot' this invention is to provide a simple, cheap, and durable folding chair; and it consists iu a certain novel construction and arrangement of devices fully set forth hereinafter in connection with the accompanying drawings, and specifically pointed out in the appended claims.

In the drawings, Figure lV is a perspective view of a chair embodyingniy improvements. Fig. 2 a detail view. Fig. 3 is a side view of the saine in its folded position. Fig. lis a detail view of the foot-rest.

Referring by letter to the drawings, A designates the seat of the chair, having the side bars, I3 l, to the inner sides oi' which, near their front and rear ends, respectively, are pivoted the `front and rearlegs, C C and C C, and the front legs and the rear legs are respectively connected together by suitable cross-bars, c and e', near their upper ends,

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and also by similar cross-bars near their lower ends.

'lo the inner sides ot the side bars, B B, near or at their centers, are pivoted the swinging braces l) D', which are provided at their free ends in their lower edges with notches d and d', which are adapted to be engaged with the upper edges of the crossbars fand r, respeetively.

1C represents the leg-rest, which is provided with the side bars, Itl ll", and the side bars are extended beyond the inner end of the rest to [forni ears which are pivoted to the ears I) b, l'orined by a forward extension oli the side bars, I3 I3.

G G represent swinging clutches pivoted to the trent legs ot the chair and provided at their lower ends with longitudinal slots (j, and ll ll represent curved arms which are pivoted to the rear side bars of the leg-restand operate at their tree ends in the slots g. These slots g are slightly longer than the width ot the p curved arms, and therefore when the clutches l swing downward and assume a position at an angle to the curved arms the latter are clamped tightly by the slots, and to adjust the curved arms in the slots it is necessary to raise the clutches until they are at right angles to the arms. The lower ends et the clutches G G are connected by the rod G', whereby both cln tches may be operated troni one side ot the chair.

I designates the back ot the chair, provided with the side bars, K K, which are extended below the lower edge ot the back, and are provided with pins le lr, mounted in longitudinal slots IJ Il near the rear ends of the bars of the seat, the said slots being provided at their ends with. enlargements in which the pins normally rest.

Clutches )I M (similar to the clutches G G) are mounted on the rearwardly-extending ends ot the side bars, l5 B, and are provided with slots lm /m,in which operate the free ends of the curved arnishY N, which are pivoted to the side bars, K K, at about their central points. V

The side arms, O O, are pivoted at their rear ends to the side bars of the back, near their lower ends, and are connected at their front ends to the side bars oi' the seat by the links P P, which are provided at their lower ends with pins p Qi, operatingin longitudinal slots Q Q in the side bars, l. The slots Q Q are preferably formed below the lower edge of the side bars, near their li'ront ends, by providing the latter with an oi'i'set, Q', while the slots L L are preferably toi-ined above the upper edges of the side bars, near the rear ends, by providing the latter with offsets L.

To fold the chair, disengage the braces from the cross-bars of the legs and fold the latter against the under side of the seat by passing the front legs between the rear legs, then disengage the curved arms II l'I trom the clutches G and feld the leg-rest on the upper side of the seat, then disengage the curved arms N i'roin the clutches M, dra-w the pins on the lower ends of the side bars oi' the back rearwardly to the ends ot the slot-s L and fold the back over the leg-rest, thus folding the chair into a compact and portable torni. "Wlien the back is in. its operative position,

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the pins on the lower ends of its side bars are arranged at the front ends of the slots L, so that when the back is horizontal (flush with the bottom) its lower or inner edge will be ar ranged close to the rear edge of the bottom.. NVhen the back is folded forward on the seat, the pins on its side bars are arranged in the rear ends of the slots L, in order to enable the back to lie on the seat without projecting beyond its front edge'.v (Clearly shown in Fig. 3.) The lower ends of the links P (which connect the front ends of the side arms to the chair-scat) are arranged at any points of the slots Q to suit the position of the back and to hold the side arms at the desired height. \Vhen the back is folded on the seat, the lower ends of the said links are arranged at the rear ends of the slots.

R represents a footfrest which is attached to the lower end of the leg-rest, and it is provided with hooks s s, which are engaged with transverse pins S', arranged between the side bars, S, and turned down to form the standards 'l T, which may rest on the iioor when the chair is in its operative position.

The back, seat, and leg-rest of this chair are preferably formed of cane or a similar material.

It will be obviousfrom the foregoing description that the back of the chair may be arranged at any desired angle `to the seat from parallel therewith to perpendicular thereto. Then parallel or in the same horizontal plane with the seat, the lower ends of the side bars of the back pass on opposite sides of the seat; and the inner (or lower) edge of the back comes close to the rear edge of the seat,

hence the object in extending the side bars of the back beyond (or below) the inner (or lower) edge of the back; but when the chair is folded the lower ends of the said side bars must be arranged at the rear ends of the slots L, in order that the back may fold on and coincide with the seat.

Having thus described my invention, I claiml. In a folding chair, the combination, with the seat provided near its rear edge with horizontal slots L L, of the back having side bars, K, which extend below its lower edge and are provided with pins which slide in the said slots, whereby when the back is in a horizontal position its edge iits close to the rear edge of the seat, and the swinging arms attached to the back and engaged by suitable clutches, substantially as specified.

2. In a chair, the combination, with the seat provided with the side bars, B B, having slots L L near their rear ends and slots Q Q near their front ends, of the back having side bars provided with pins mounted in the slots L L, the swinging arms on the back engaged by clutches on the seat, the side arms pivoted at their rear ends to the back, and the links connected to the front ends of the arms and having pins on their lower ends operating in the slots Q Q, substantially as specified.

In testimony that I claim the foregoing as my own l have hereto affixed my signature in presence of two witnesses.

LESTER KELLER.

Titn esses:

T. M. RICHARDSON, J. P. HUG-HART. 

